GUEST OPINION: Our response to hatred and violence

I was sitting in an English class days after the Boston Marathon bombing when one of my fellow students voiced his opinion on the recent event.

“I find it amazing that something so devastating happens and we just go on like nothing happened.”

The Herald News, Fall River, MA

Writer

Posted Apr. 26, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 26, 2013 at 1:27 AM

Posted Apr. 26, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 26, 2013 at 1:27 AM

» Social News

I was sitting in an English class days after the Boston Marathon bombing when one of my fellow students voiced his opinion on the recent event.

“I find it amazing that something so devastating happens and we just go on like nothing happened.”

I thought to myself, “What are we supposed to do? Our lives must go on. Life doesn’t just stop, right?”

That was Wednesday.

Fast forward to Friday.

I woke up and began my day like any other. I fed and dressed my children and made coffee. Moments later my phone began to vibrate alerting me that UMass Dartmouth where I am a fulltime student, was closed. Odd, since the events were unfolding miles away. But it wasn’t long before more alerts came with the reason: the bombing suspect still at large, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was a student and resident at UMass Dartmouth.

I was instantly glued to the television, seeing what appeared to be his sad and scared face on the screen. My initial unexplained feelings were of empathy and pity. But those feelings quickly turned to anger while watching the media discuss the massive shootout and car chase that occurred overnight. How could such a young soul with such potential do something so destructive?

Dzhokhar’s mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, described her boys relationship. “What Tamerlan said was law for Dzhokhar. That’s how I raised them. What the elder brother says, the younger brother has to do. That is according to Islam,” she explained to ABC News.

Did she forget to teach these boys right from wrong or to have a mind of their own?

Friends of the suspect described him to the media as a “typical American guy” and they would never expect anything like this from him. How did he become so lost and influenced to commit such a devastating and intolerable act? His older brother influenced him, sure, but what about his friends or fellow classmates? What about us? Could we have influenced him? Could we have made a difference?

“It makes you wonder who you are sitting with in class and who you are walking along the hallways with,” said Lisa Freitas, a senior sociology major.

Tsarneav was a young boy who walked these halls with us. What was his experience here? Did he find community, welcome and friendship? Even if he did, it may not have been enough to turn him away from violence and hate.

Although there is no excuse for his actions let this be a reminder to us all. We need to be and should be kinder to one another. It amazes me how the whole nation can pull together at a time of crisis. But why do we need to be in crisis to acknowledge and be kinder to one another?

Page 2 of 2 -
We need to take the time to stop and reflect on how we treat each other and whether kindness could have been a counterweight to the terrible pull of hatred and violence.

Sarina Silva, of Westport, is a senior English major at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.